Video: LaVar Ball Refuses to Thank Trump, Would Rather Thank President Xi for Release of Son from China

On Monday night, former New York Jet LaVar Ball stood by his refusal to give President Donald Trump any credit for the release of his son and two other UCLA basketball players, who were briefly held by China for shoplifting.

“Did he help the boys get out? I don’t know. … If I was going to thank somebody I’d probably thank President Xi (Jinping),” Ball told CNN’s Chris Cuomo.

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Ball said that the concept of thanking Trump is off base.

“I don’t need to go around saying thank you to everybody. Let me deal with my son and let (Trump) do what he’s going to do,” he said.

Ball claimed that there was no proof Trump helped release his son, LiAngelo, and the two other UCLA players. The arrests came while Trump was on his Asian tour. Trump said that his dialogue with Chinese President Xi Jinping was critical to the fast release of the players.

“It wasn’t like he was in the U.S. and said, ‘OK, there’s three kids in China. I need to go over and get them.’ That wasn’t the thought process,” Ball said.

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Ball also believes he deserves credit for getting his son released.

“I helped my son get out … of China. I had some people who had boots on the ground that knew the situation when we first jumped on it.”

“I say thank you when I see something. I don’t thank you just ‘cause it’s people talking and saying I did this, I did that,” he said.

“If you help, you shouldn’t have to say anything,” he added. “If I helped somebody, I don’t walk around saying, ‘You know I helped you now? Come on now! Give me some love!’”

“Who?” hetold ESPN on Friday. “What was he over there for? Don’t tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.”

On Monday, he said he was unaware of what Trump had tweeted.

“Somebody told me about the tweet a couple days ago. I don’t even tweet,” Ball said. “I’m just saying, why is that on your mind? All this stuff is going on and that’s on your mind, that a father didn’t say thank you? And you’re supposed to be, you know, you’re the head of the U.S.? Come on!”

Trump, however, took the lack of thanks seriously.

Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!